Saturday, February 25, 2012

Adventures in Sydney

Last weekend I went to Sydney with my flatmate Susan and our friend Nicole for a touristy fun summer weekend. We caught up with Kris and Rodd for dinner on Friday night for some delicious tapas and they brought us to a shady nightclub for after dinner drinks.
On Saturday it was time for the primary purpose of the trip: the harbo(u)r bridge climb. There's a company that leads guided climbs up the top of the big bridge in Sydney harbor, and I had heard from friends that it's a lot of fun and not scary, even if you're not overly fond of heights. You're not allowed to bring anything up with you (they don't want you to drop your camera onto the passing traffic below), which was actually kind of nice because I didn't have to carry anything extra and wasn't distracted by my camera and iPhone. Everyone wears grey jumpsuits - I think the idea is to blend in with the bridge, and it was a warm, sunny day so the guide recommended we only wear underwear under the jumpsuits. Thank goodness, because I would have been roasting if I had kept my jeans on. I wouldn't say I'm afraid of heights, but I am afraid of falling, and it didn't feel scary. You have to climb up and down a few ladders, but you're clipped on by a safety wire the entire time, and one you get on top of the actual bridge it feels like you're walking on a rampway- you're not ever right along the edge. We lucked out and got perfect sunny, clear, and breezy weather, and the views were amazing. There are a lot of stairs, but they aren't steep, so I didn't really notice at the time...but my calves felt like they were on fire for the next two days. The bridge climb is fairly pricey but I'd say it's definitely worth the money- highly recommended by DCoE!

After the climb, which takes around 3 hours in total, we went to a German restaurant and drank enormous (1 liter) beers and ate pretzels. After that, a scenic walk around the Sydney opera house that included a homeless nap in a park.

Sunday we spent the day at Bondi Beach, and it definitely felt like an Australian summer, much more so than in Melbourne. All in all, it was a great weekend trip- best of all, we flew on Tiger Airlines (which is essentially the Fung Wah of air travel for your Bostonians) and made it there and back without any dramas!